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Mr. James Maloney (Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 7:31:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition accused the minister of returning from Ukraine having made empty promises and using empty words. I am looking at a tweet from none other than the defence minister of Ukraine talking about the centuries-old friendship between Canada and Ukraine, and thanking her, our Minister of National Defence and the Prime Minister for delivering on upping the campaign in Operation Unifier. Are you saying that he is using empty words and engaging in Twitter diplomacy?

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Mr. James Maloney (Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 9:36:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank all members of the House tonight, as this debate would not be taking place if it were not for the unanimous agreement of all members in this chamber. I believe the reason we have that unanimous consent is that we stand united in purpose to stand with Ukraine. We need to remember that throughout this debate. I rise today in support of Ukraine and of the initiatives of our government to support Ukraine in this difficult time. The links between our two countries are strong, and Canada has been and will be steadfast in standing in solidarity with Ukraine, especially in the face of unwarranted Russian aggression. For me, the ties are strong. Not only do I have a large Ukrainian community in my constituency, but there are also many Ukrainian cultural and religious organizations, as well as the Ukrainian consulate. Canadians of Ukrainian descent strengthen our social and cultural fabric in Etobicoke, in Toronto and in the country. The community is strong and the ties that bind our two countries are many. They are my neighbours; they are my teammates; they are my classmates; they are my friends. As has been said many times before, when Ukraine became an independent state in 1991, Canada was the first western country to recognize it as such. Canada and Ukraine have enjoyed an even stronger relationship since. The 1994 joint declaration on special partnership recognizes Canada's support for the development of Ukraine and the importance of that bilateral co-operation. Canada is committed to supporting Ukraine as it takes necessary steps to secure itself as a stable, democratic and prosperous country. We have been there to develop and strengthen democratic institutions in Ukraine, including election monitoring. I was there myself in 2019 as part of the delegation. I felt those bonds. Since 2014, Canada has provided Ukraine with more than $890 million in multi-faceted assistance to support Ukraine's security, prosperity and reform objectives. Since 2015, Canada has been providing military training to Ukraine under Operation Unifier. The operation's focus is to assist with security force training to help them improve and build their capability and capacity. Over 32,000 of its security forces will help ensure Ukraine remains sovereign, secure and stable. Last week, our government announced $340 million for the extension and expansion of Operation Unifier for three more years, as well as immediately deploying 60 personnel to join approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members on the ground, with the ability to surge to 400. Military support is just one part of Canada’s overall strategy. There are also economic supports through trade and investment. In 2020, the value of Canada’s merchandise exports to Ukraine totalled $161 million and the value of merchandise imports from Ukraine amounted to $144 million. Last week, on January 27, Canada and Ukraine announced the launch of negotiations for the modernization of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Since 2014, Canada has been one of Ukraine’s leading bilateral development assistance partners, having committed more than $245 million to development assistance, including the provisions of emergency basic health services, safe drinking water, food assistance, protection support, shelter and essential relief items. This needs to be a non-partisan debate. As I said at the beginning, we are united in purpose. The Prime Minister is fully engaged. The Deputy Prime Minister is fully engaged. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Ukraine last week, came back and granted the request of the President of Ukraine. The Minister of Defence is there as we speak. I expect, upon her return, we will see further action from Canada. I hope we can maintain this united force and non-partisan approach.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:43:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, I am going to disagree with his characterization of the situation. There has been no diminished contribution. Canada has been there with Ukraine since the beginning. This goes back to 2014 with the invasion of Crimea. We have been talking about support of military lethal weapons. Canada did not do it then. The opposition is asking us to do it now. Military support comes in many different fashions. We need only look at Operation Unifier. Over 30,000 members of the Ukrainian military are better trained because of Canada's contribution, so to say that Canada has not helped with military contribution is absolutely false.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we heard the Prime Minister earlier this evening address that very issue. Canada is very proud to support the initiative to make sure women form part of the training exercise. If we look at Operation Unifier, women formed part of that training. International development programs that Canada has supported and has been part of have put great emphasis on that very issue. It is quite clear where Canada stands.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:46:13 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, with all due respect, to suggest there has been a shortfall by Canada on the diplomacy front is simply wrong. Our foreign affairs minister was in Ukraine last week. Our defence minister left Ukraine hours ago. She is going to Brussels as we speak to engage in further diplomatic discussions. That is exactly the approach Canada is trying to take. To answer the question as to what is a priority, everything is a priority to make sure that further invasion of Ukraine does not take place.

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